Tuesday, May 19, 2015

A real taste of Italy at Serafina Kolkata

A real taste of Italy at Serafina Kolkata

Kolkata has long been introduced to wood oven pizzas and it has also been exposed to a variety of flavours from Italy for quite sometime but if you are thinking that another Italian place in Kolkata is not too exciting I would just simply recommend that you visit Serfina once , have their truffle pizza and get back to me unless you do not like delightful cheesy pizzas with that slight hint of truffles all imported from Italy and France.

When Sharmili from Communication 2.0 invited us for a tasting of the extensive spread at Serafina I was not sure what to expect. We were 6 or 7 excited bloggers and we decided to ask the restaurant for their specialty. They said it was their pastas and pizzas. Well as cliched as that might sound from a restaurant serving Italian cuisine read along to know why this place is worth its pizzas pastas and much more.

On the manager's recommendation I tried the Kaffir Lime Margharita which unfortunately failed to strike a chord with me because it wasn't chilled well enough but was nevertheless tasty yet on a hot summer day I would have personally preferred it well chilled.

The carpaccio which followed the drink more than made up for the drink. This is quite frankly the perfect start to a lovely hearty Italian meal.

Just as we were raving about the crapaccio we were presented with the Goat cheese salad which frankly interested me even more not just because I personally love rocket leaves and goat cheese but the presentation seemed rustic and beautiful. As I took a bite into creamy goat cheese spread out on small slices of well toasted bread and try a bit of caramelized walnuts with rocket and apples all the flavours together made me extremely happy.

All their pastas are in house made with imported flour which gives it that extra flavour no wonder they take pride in their pastas and pizzas. The Ravioli al Porcini is the best ravioli I have had in Kolkata. The flavour of Parmesan and porcini makes for a superb combination and the ravioli is done exactly the way I would want it to be neither overcooked nor undercooked.

The Alio e Olio is probably what I would personally try on an ordinary day at home but when I am out for fine dining I would want something slightly more complex.

The chicken breast paillard is again a breast of chicken which is pounded into a thin sheet and makes up for quite an interesting dish but the Baby lamp chops are what I would personally recommend. Rosemary works beautifully with red meat and the perfectly done lamb pink inside , soft juicy yet meaty is exactly how lamb chops should be in my opinion.

By this time we were overly full and the sight of any other dish while hard to resist tasting seemed quite a task but nevertheless one cannot leave without a sweet ending and when we asked the chef for his recommendation he had at first recommended chocolate mousse but I personally feel chocolate desserts are rather overused everywhere and so I gladly tasted the tiramisu which is probably the perfect ending to a beautiful meal and the panna cota was creamy well set and not overly wobbly. What also did catch my eye was the inclusion of a few desserts which Kolkata is usually not used to such as the Ricotta cheesecake. While we love our baked cheesecake till now I have mostly tasted cheesecake from Cream cheese and this classic Italian cheesecake would be quite interesting.

The creamy panna cotta

I am extremely happy that Serafina has opened its doors to Kolkata and would recommend it for a true blue experience.